10/28/2024
Hello Cherry Knolls clients and friends! As you know, elections are coming up, and one of the issues on the ballot is Colorado Proposition 129. As you may also know, this proposition is very relevant to Colorado veterinarians and pet owners. There has been a lot of discussion and misinformation going around concerning this proposition, and we wanted to send out a clear breakdown of why we, as veterinary care providers, are urging you to vote NO on Proposition 129, both for the wellbeing of your pets, and for all pets throughout Colorado.
Prop 129 is a vote to either reject or allow a new type of veterinary practitioner. This new type of practitioner, called a VPA (Veterinary Professional Associate), would be allowed to perform surgery on animals after less than a semester of internship. They would have minimal hands-on instruction with actual animals, and their training would be primarily online.
Performing surgeries with inadequate training is risky under the best of circumstances, but even routine procedures can become extremely complicated or even deadly with little or no warning. Allowing VPAs to perform surgeries on pets would dramatically increase the danger of permanent injury or even death to the animals being operated on.
For those who may not know, the current system in veterinary practices works with the positions of Veterinarian and Veterinary Technicians. Veterinaries are qualified to diagnose medical conditions, prescribe medications, and perform surgeries. Veterinary Technicians cannot perform those three functions but can assist the vet in all other ways. A VPA would be allowed to do all the things a vet can do—but they would be required to have a veterinarian’s supervision while doing them. This saves vets no time at all, and infringes on the responsibilities of Veterinary Technicians, effectively wasting the time and skills of both Vets and Technicians, and contributing nothing new or valuable to the pet care process.
Not only is Prop 129 dangerous for pets, it is specifically designed to scam upcoming students into taking on student debt without a guaranteed job market, and to fool voters into thinking that if Prop 129 is passed, vet bills will decrease. In actuality, the cost of veterinary care is extremely unlikely to decrease if Prop 129 passes, since corporations would simply leverage the position of VPA to decrease overhead but then likely charge the same amount under the guise of still having veterinarian supervision. In other words, your pets would be getting much lower quality care for almost the same price.
Interestingly, the FDA has not yet ruled on how they would handle it if Prop 129 did pass. As of now, the FDA only allows for the positions of DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) and VMD (Veterinary Medical Doctor). So even if Prop 129 did pass, VPAs would not legally be able to practice, which further highlights how Prop 129 could be devastating for upcoming vet students.
All together, we at Cherry Knolls have every reason to believe that Prop 129 would be dangerous for pets, potentially crippling to the next generation of veterinary student, and no help to your wallet. Please help protect pets, students, and your own finances by voting NO on Proposition 129.
